Truck driver's medical history to be in Nevada Amtrak train crash report

Aug. 2, 2011

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The medical history of a truck driver who slammed into the side of an Amtrak passenger train, killing six people, will be released with other new details of the fiery June collision, federal investigators said Tuesday.

The report, which is expected in five to eight months, will come in advance of a fuller analysis that will identify causes and contributing factors, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said.

"That signals that we're ready to move into the analysis phase," Knudson said. "What does it mean? We can make sense of exactly what happened that (day)."

The advance report will also include the driver's interactions with others in the three days before the June 24 crash in the Nevada desert. The truck-tractor hauling two side-dump trailers hit the 12-car train traveling from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif., killing the truck driver, Lawrence Valli, 43, of Winnemucca; a train crew member; and four train passengers.

Other data expected in advance of the analysis will include reports on emergency crews' response, an accident history for the stretch of highway where the crash happened and the trucking company's handling of previous maintenance checks and safety tests, Knudson said.